Death Takes a Holiday
by ChernobylGhost
Summary: The first war is over, and this is what happens when death takes a holiday. SeverusNarcissa.


_The first war is over, and this is what happens  
when death takes a holiday. Severus/Narcissa._

* * *

"The pink,"Narcissa suggested.

"Don't be absurd. Men do not wear _pink_, especially not wanted men," he replied with a cautious glance around.

"Cranky, I see. What do you propose then? The only color you seem to know of is black."

Heglared at her with the same power that could send first years heading for the hills. If she was going to make him look ridiculous, he would at least make it difficult for her.

He replied, "It makes me look thin."

Narcissa wanted to rip her hair out. She shoved him into a dressing area and hurled a incredibly bright yellow robe at his shocked face. She would have never been able to have this much fun with Lucius. "You're barely a size small! You don't need to look thin. And I, of course, should not have asked your opinion on colors in the first place."

"Than what am I even doing here?" he yelled over the partition while he set the abnormally-made robe on fire. He took great pleasure in watching the fabric turn to ash.

"Being irritating?" Narcissa could only imagine what her husband would do if he found out about her choice of a shopping partner. Their would be yelling, of course, yelling and cursing. Than things would get bad. He'd blast the whole mansion apart. Oh, how she hated loud noises. But then, why was she risking this trip and why was she enjoying it?

"You wouldn't be making jokes if you taught the imbeciles they have at Hogwarts," he said in a low tone as he banished the remains of the yellow bundle of what had once been a robe.

Narcissa wasted no time in finding a new item for him to try on, but when she tried to hand it to him, he just waved the garment away. There was no way he'd be seen in red, a Gryffindor House color. Not if he had anything to say, anyway. Narcissa sighed dropped the robe into the sorting tub. "Who said I was joking? And anyway, you don't have to be near them any longer, so stop your whining."

He gave her a dark look and replied, "I do not _whine_."

That was a lie if she'd ever heard one. Narcissa almost laughed at the sheer thought that he was being serious. Why had there not been someone like him in her seventh year at Hogwarts? With a slightly heavy heart, she went off to try on a few more dress robes from her 'must have' pile.

After a few moments, she came back out to stand in front of him in a long, stiff-looking white dress robe. There were enchanted flowers around the collar and streaks of purple coming up from the sleeves. "How does this look?" she asked while smoothing the front a little in front of the mirror.

He didn't hesitate in telling her, "Atrocious. Now, may we go?"

"What is wrong with it?" Narcissa thought it looked rather elegant and would suit its purpose very nicely.

Severus looked at her through narrowed eyes. Oh yes, the robe she had chosen was appealing, but she could do better. The only clothes this woman had ever been allowed to wear were the ones Lucius had picked out for her. She could not be shown as a temptation to the other males in their high class society. And it seemed that Narcissa had skewed her views to fit what her husband would like, no matter that he wouldn't be attending this particular event. Severus was positively disgusted. "We are leaving. _Now_," he growled as his temper rose. He was not angered by Narcissa, but at the so-called _man_ that was her husband. Lucius did not deserve her.

"Oh no, you're not getting out that easily. We need to find you a new robe, and we are not leaving until we do," she said stubbornly. Narcissa had one more robe to try on and if he didn't like it, tough.

"I can choose my clothing alone, you do not need to wait," he tried to persuade her.

That time she had a harder time holding in a chuckle, but she managed. Lucius would be so proud. "But what kind of friend would I be if I left you to pay for all of this?"

"A live one," she hear him reply from out in the display area.

"Enough, Severus. Try the one I left on the counter. It should fit nicely."

He looked and found a long and flowing gold-colored robe right where she'd said.

"I am not wearing a robe that comes with a matching handbag," he told her firmly and set the shining item in the reject pile.

"They are all like that, Severus!" She used her wand to remove the wrinkles in the fabric.

"This is a _womans'_ robe shop!" he returned hotly.

As she was finishing up with the wrinkles, she heard his last reply. She stopped mid-wrinkle and took another glance at the charmed sign on the wall. _The Witches' Warehouse,_ it read.

"Oh dear," she said quietly. Narcissa came back into the viewing room and walked over to her companion. His back was turned to her as he gazed out the window. "Perhaps we should find somewhere new," she said from behind him.

"Indeed."

Severus turned to give her his famous "death glare" but wasn't prepared for what he saw. Now that was definitely _not_ a dress robe Lucius would have approved of. He stood, frozen in shock, as looked her over once.

The set of robes she had changed into were not too fancy, but seemed to have been made especially for her. The blood-red fabric shimmered at her every move as it hugged her body snugly. There was nothing Severus wouldn't have done to have a picture of her in this robe, just so that he could look at her over and over again as she moved gracefully toward him.

Narcissa noticed him go still and wondered what he could have possibly thought was so wrong with her this time. "Do I really look that terrible?" she asked quietly ans she turned to look in the mirror. After a moment, she made as if to return to the changing area.

Narcissa could rip you apart limb from limb with just a few sentences if you got her peeved, but, like every Malfoy, appearance mattered a great deal to Narcissa. And Severus had forgotten how fragile she could be when it came to her looks. He would have told her she looked wonderful even if she hadn't. This time though, he did not have to lie.

Severus reached out and caught her arm. "You look fine, Narcissa," was all he said, even though it was only a fraction of what he was thinking.

* * *

an: Dear old Lucius is off looking for a way to bring back his lovely leader of doom in case anyone wondered why he'd gone and left his wife. I haven't read many Narcissa stories, so this must be horribly out of character. But, hey,this could happen, right?

...right?


End file.
